210 BULBS AND TUBEROUS-ROOTED PLANTS. 



very light green, three inches long, having an umbel of 

 deeply-cnpped, very large flowers, of a rich apricot yel- 

 low with purple spots. It is particularly desirable 

 because it is the earliest flowering variety in the group. 



Var. Wilsoni (pardinum). — A very desirable vari- 

 ety because of its being the latest to flower, thus keep- 

 ing up a succession. It is a strong grower, two feet 

 high, stem bronzed below, green above, the leaves quite 

 short, glossy, of a very deep green, and curled down- 

 wards ; the flowers very large, deeply cupped, apricot 

 tinted, with a broad yellow band down the center of the 

 petal. 



We cannot dismiss the Elegans and Auratum species 

 without noticing the ease with which they are grown 

 from seed. The tendency to variation in form and 

 color, by cross-fertilization, has increased the number of 

 varieties to an almost unlimited extent. This has offered 

 the growers a fine opportunity to gratify a very natural 

 desire to honor their friends by naming a flower to com- 

 memorate their memories, no less than the gratification 

 that comes from the production of a desirable form, 

 which is to be known as the result of the labors of their 

 own hands, guided by their knowledge and skill in gar- 

 dening. However commendable this zeal may be, it is 

 liable to be overdone, working a real injury to the ama- 

 teur who does not detect sufficient variation in many 

 forms to entitle them to distinctive varietal names. In 

 those already noticed, the casual observer, or those who 

 desire Lilies simply for display, would not sanction more 

 than three or four distinct types, and he or they would 

 very naturally think that these names were applied sim- 

 ply for purposes of sale. In a measure, this is true ; in 

 reality, not ; an enthusiast will always see more to admire 

 in any form, than an ordinary observer, and if the form 

 is a creature of his own head and hands his vision is 

 doubly active. On the other hand, the beginner will take 



